A few new NADOI Tips

01Feb

Well, in the land of white endless vistas, one problem here is that now the snow is reaching the top of my 6 foot privacy fence. The question is, how do you keep 7 German Shepherds INSIDE when the snow is 1 foot or LESS from the top of the fence? One can use a snow blower to build a moat around the inside of the fence, or one can get out their snow shoes and pack it down! It is very fun to see the dogs reaction to snowshoeing around the yard!

The next problem is keeping wildlife from coming INTO your yard! One of my friends has a GSD who woke him up in 3 am because he had to go outside. Just around the corner IN THE YARD was a moose who let the dog have it! Fortunately, the dog was not seriously injured and he is now much more cautious about going outside!

Keeping wild animals, including mountain lions, deer, elk and moose out of your yard when you live in a small rural ski town planted safely in the central mountains of Idaho, is not easy. Packing down or snow blowing the outside of your fence line can help, but also keeping lights on or having motion sensor lights in your yard can help. I place white Christmas lights in several of my trees in the back yard which help me to not only see the backyard at night BEFORE I let the dogs out, but also discourage wildlife to walk over the fence! I leave them on all night!

BONUS TIP:

The second is from member Janice Dearth #737 in Texas. It is just a line or two, but a very good tip and one that many puppy owners don’t teach until they learn too late that they need it! Here it is:

“It is always good to teach your new puppies to potty on leash. If you travel by car or go RV’ing, it is really important. All dogs will eliminate when they are running free, but going while on leash is a learned skill.”